New Delhi
Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) has joined
forces with Fairtrade Deutschland, Tchibo, Dibella, and the Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH to support partners
to procure organic cotton in India.
OCA is a
multi-stakeholder organisation that is dedicated to organic cotton. OCA also
plays a vital role in uniting the sector to unleash the potential of organic
cotton. It is believed that organic cotton will have a positive and powerful impact
on the planet, people, and prosperity. On the other hand, FFID-Chetna, is an
umbrella of small farmers that is owned by cooperatives with a focus to address
livelihoods and to build a farming community.
Cotton is the
most used natural fibre in the global textile sector and the demand for organic
cotton is increasing but to meet this demand is a challenge. Many producers
think that if they will switch to organic cotton, then it will be expensive.
Also, the transition period from conventional farming to organic farming needs
appropriate training, access to non-GM seed, and training, support.
There are around
500 cotton producers in the Fairtrade cooperative Chetna in the Indian states
of Odisha and Telangana. These producers will receive training in organic
cotton cultivation, financial support, and non-GM seed. The aim is to harvest 250 tons of organic
cotton and cotton from fields in conversion per year. According to Nanda Bergstein, Director of
Corporate Responsibility, Tchibo, India has been selected as it is the world’s
largest organic cotton exporter. Around 50% of sustainable cotton comes from
India and it has the potential to expand more.
It is said that
the farmers will be provided extensive training measures including efficient
organic farming methods which are designed to propagate capacity building in
smallholder organic cotton production. During the transition process, GMO-free
seed packages might overcome the expected hurdles. The organic farmers will be
paid with an organic premium and a minimum support price and the farmers’
in-conversion will be supported by a Fairtrade Premium payment. The
certification of women-led farms will also be increased. Women will have
increased independence if more female farmers join the enterprises.
According to
Bart Vollaard, Executive Director, OCA, to increase the supply of organic
cotton, the business case of the farmers should be ensured. It needs to be
checked if the farmers are already certified or they are transitioning to
organic farming. The pilot has the right partners and ingredients. Also, the
economic resilience of farmers can be improved by the binding and long-term
cotton sourcing commitments by brands and retailers. He also said that the team
is excited to see this project as it will inform and inspire inform
larger-scale action by actors within the Partnership for Sustainable Textiles.
OCA is the only
multi-stakeholder organization that is fully dedicated to organic cotton. It is also committed to bring
integrity, measurable social and environmental impact to organic cotton, and
supply security. OCA will also be responsible for measuring and validating the
impact of the project.
Source – Press release of “OCA”
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